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Bloomberg Hates Building Jumpers
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 19, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 19, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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In the wake of a judge dismissing charges daredevil Jeb Corliss for his attempted jump off the Empire State Building, Mayor Bloomberg is very upset.
"If I understand the ruling, just from reading the headlines, the judge said the guy did nothing wrong and should be able to jump off buildings with a single bound or whatever - I don't know where the judge is coming from. Whether it's legal, that's up to the court system to decide. But we do not need people jumping off of tall buildings in New York City - certainly [not] without a permit."
Yeah, if you can't smoke in a restaurant, Mayor B sure as hell isn't going to let you jump off a building! The Daily News reports State Senator Marty Golden says he'll propose laws to ban "leaping from any bridge, building or antenna in this city," so all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed with the law.
But Corliss's lawyer Mark Jay Heller is having a field day with the coverage. He says other daredevils are asking him for legal advice: "Now jumpers may flock to New York, to the Brooklyn Bridge, to the Empire State Building and if they are not reckless, can jump and say look I've broken no law - right now, they have a free pass to do this." Oy. And interesting fact about Heller - he's the attorney for the Son of Sam, Fabian Basabe, and one of the guys who beat up an off-duty cop at a White Castle in the Bronx.
Photograph of Mayor Bloomberg and some school children at the opening of the Top of the Rock in May 2005
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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